From the Ashes
by gmenon1
Summary: The sequel to "We've All Got Some Secrets" - my second attempt!
1. Foreshadowed

**Chapter 1: Foreshadowed**

We both shouldn't have lied that day. Maybe it was something about the blues that accompanied summer's end. Maybe it was all of the last minute shoppers in Diagon Alley, buzzing around too much to even notice if we lied or not to one another. In any case, we did lie.

And now I'm in a lot of shit.

My name is Amy Evelyn Potter. My mother, Evelyn Martin, died while she was giving birth to me. She was sixteen years old. My dad is James Sirius Potter, son of the famous Harry Potter. He drinks a lot. He could have had a decent career in Quidditch, but they threw him off the team because of his drinking problem and his temper. He denies this, but everyone know it's true. Now he teaches Quidditch for Beginners – a crash Quidditch course for adults. It was more like a leisure course, but it paid his bills.

I guess I could have grown up bitter that my dad had never looked me in the eye, that I had pretty much been raised by my aunt and uncle, and that I trusted no one except them and my cousin Aiden. But I didn't care. It made me tough. It made me real. It made me down to Earth. And I can't complain. I really should be thanking him.

Now I'm two days away from being seventeen, last minute shopping for my last year at Hogwarts. I loved last minute shopping. Everyone was in a rush, and it wasn't like I needed anything brand new or anything, so it was easy for me. And it was a plus that the name Potter got me faster service than most. Although, Granddad Harry would frown on that.

I was in the Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, taking my sweet time, when I saw one of the most attractive guys I'd seen in a long time. So I did what came naturally to me. I put on some lip gloss and sat down beside him, ordering a chocolate ice cream for the both of us.

He looked at me with such surprise that I couldn't help but smirk at him.

"What, are you expecting someone?" I asked. He shook his head. "What's your name?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Rider Achai," he said. His name was poetic. His hair was such a dark brown color, it looked so good falling over his bronze face and sharp features. His eyes were black as night. "And who are you?"

"Jean," I lied. I was used to it. The name Potter scared people away. And after all, this was just a game I liked to play. "Jean Adler."

"Well it's nice to meet you Jean," he said, "but um – what exactly is it that you want?"

"It's just – well you look new around here, and I like getting to know other good looking people," I said, winking at him. If he wasn't surprised before, he was now.

"Aren't I supposed to be doing the flirting?" he asked, smirking slightly.

"Well that depends on if you want to take me out for a drink," I said easily. "Ice cream bores me, to be completely honest."

"How old are you?" he asked me.

"Twenty," I said, smiling. He looked to be around twenty two, so I felt like that was about right.

"You look really young," he said suspiciously. I shrugged.

"I get that often," I said in response.

"What do you do?"

"I write," I said. That was honest. I do write. "And you?"

"Um – well I got a new job, and I'm not really supposed to say yet, but you know what, I would like to take you out for a drink. How's The Three Broomsticks? I'm new here so I heard that's good." I knew that everyone would recognize me there, so I shook my head.

"Hog's Head is a bit quieter. You can't even hear yourself think in the Broomsticks," I said, smiling. He shrugged. We went inside, and as I expected, it was empty, save a few veiled witches in one corner. But there were always a few veiled witches in the corner.

We didn't even get to the drinks before we were both in the Hog's Head's reasonably clean bathroom counter-top, with the door locked, and making out. He refused to go farther, despite me clawing at his shirt, and he kept telling me to take it easy. His phone rang about fifteen minutes later, bringing us both out of our lust. He sighed and pushed off of me, looking at me apologetically before answering his phone. I adjusted my skirt and blouse as he said hello, turning on the off-white tiled counter-top to check my reflection. I reapplied my lip gloss and watched Rider on the phone. He was intently listening to someone I could hear slightly. It was a woman's voice, and she sounded urgent. The look on his face though, slowly turned from intent to exasperated. He was a handsome man, I caught myself thinking. He looked different from most of them men around here too. He looked more exotic. I would have put my money on Spanish, but that wasn't it either. Both he and his name were very unique.

"Okay, I'll be there soon. Try not to have a heart attack. Drink a martini or something," he said on the phone before snapping it closed. He looked at his phone with slight disgust.

"You know, life was so much easier when these stupid things didn't interrupt kisses with a beautiful girl so you can listen to your mother go on about the stupidest things." I raised an eyebrow and pushed myself off of the counter-top.

"Thanks for the compliment," I said, "and you shouldn't talk about your Mum like that. I'm sure she means well." He rolled his eyes.

"She means too well," he said. "Listen, I've got to go, but we should keep in touch. Here, I'll give you my cell?"

He kept out his hand, but I looked at it warily.

"You know," I said after a moment. He had already pulled his hand back, looking confused. "I'm sure that if we were meant to meet again, we would." He grinned at me.

"So you're a hit and quit it kind of girl?" he asked. I winked. He shook his head, smirking, and kissed me on the lips once more, with a tenderness that startled me, before swinging open the bathroom door. He stood in the frame for a second, turning to look at me. "I hope that we are."

"What?" I asked.

"Meant to meet again."


	2. On the Rocks

**Chapter 2: On the Rocks**

"Dad," I urged. He was still in bed, and it was the morning of September 1st. He looked like hell, and I knew why. Every year on my birthday, the day before my birthday, and the day after my birthday, my dad looked like hell. Because it wasn't just the day I was born; more importantly, it was the day my Mum died. "I've got to go to the train," I repeated for the millionth time. It was getting late.

"Just for Merlin's sake, get Scorpius to take you," he snapped at me. He reeked of cigarettes and drink. Of course, on his nightstand was an almost empty bottle of strong Muggle liquor and a glass with sticky amber residue at the bottom.

I checked the time on my dad's clock again. Uncle Scorpius would have left by now. Aunt Rose was one of the most goddamn punctual people you would ever meet. Panicking I ran over to where my trunk was and ran out to the front yard. I heaved the trunk in front of me, wishing I was seventeen already. I was contemplating taking my wand and sticking it out for the Knight Bus, but before I could do that, my real-life knight and his family sped up to my front door.

Uncle Teddy, Aunt Victoire, and my cousins, Aiden, Dora, and Remus, were all in a magically expanded car. Aiden pushed open the door and ran out with Remus. They both lifted my trunk and threw it into the dickie with their own luggage. Aiden gestured to the seat next to him, and I climbed in, a sense of utter relief washing over me. The car was so spacious, it surprised me every time.

Teddy backed out quickly, smiling when he looked back to see me. "I figured you'd be needing a ride, this being the day it is."

I nodded, looking out the window. I didn't want to talk about it. My cousins and friends were nice. They tried their hardest to make my birthday a fun thing, but I knew better. My birthday wasn't really a celebration. It was just a horrible reminder to every one of the death of not just my mom, but my dad too. What was even worse was that I managed to be one year older than she was.

When we got to the station, it was complete chaos. I leaned against the barrier, chatting nonchalantly with Dora, who was giving me more of an evil eye than anything else. After we fell through, we immediately separated, and I went to find Aiden, who had crossed the barrier with his brother.

He was standing next to Aunt Rose and Uncle Scorpius, who was holding the second year, Bella's hand. Charlotte, their other daughter, was too small to attend Hogwarts. She was only ten, and she was very pouty about it. They saw me and reached over for a hug each.

"We were going to come give you a ride," Uncle Scorpius said, "but Ted volunteered. You okay?" His question was murmured in a slightly softer tone, so I knew he wasn't referring to the journey to the platform.

"Fine," I said, shrugging. "Same old." He nodded, looking slightly concerned. Aunt Rose leaned down and pressed something into my hand.

"Don't open it till tomorrow," she said, smiling as she pulled away. "A birthday present." I smiled politely, pocketing the present. They were both really thoughtful, the pair of them. I found myself too often than I should have wishing I just had to deal with them as my parents.

"It's not every day you turn seventeen," Uncle Scorpius said, smacking me on the shoulder a little too hard.

"I suppose not," I agreed. The train whistle blew, and I leaned down to give Charlotte a kiss. She was a tiny ten year old but already so pretty. Her blonde curls were absolutely gorgeous and she had gotten the exact same shade of blue in her eyes as Aunt Rose. "It'll be you next year, Charlie," I said winking. Aunt Rose gave me a stern look.

"If you call her that, it'll stick," she warned.

Uncle Scorpius rolled his eyes. "So what? It's a tough name for my tough princess," he defended. Aunt Rose didn't look pleased.

The train whistle blew once more, and I knew I would be in trouble if I didn't go now. I let Bella say her goodbyes. "Thanks for the present!" I said before grabbing Bella's hand.

"Promise you'll write!" Aunt Rose said loudly as we got farther away from her. I turned to nod and we ran toward the train together. Aiden, bless him, had already carried our trunks in, so it was one less thing to worry about. I found Bella's friends in a compartment, ignored their nervousness as I opened the compartment door, and waved at them before moving to find Aiden.

He was sitting with Dora, Artemis (Arty), and Jesse. Everyone, except Dora of course, gave me a cheery hello when I walked into the compartment, sliding it closed.

"How was your summer?" Jesse asked, patting the seat in between himself and Arty.

"Just happy to be back at school," I said honestly. I met Aiden's eyes briefly before looking away. "But enough small talk," I said quickly. "Let's play some exploding snap." I reached into my pocket and grabbed my pack of cards. I always kept it with me. Exploding snap was one of the best ways to change a subject.

"Welcome back!" Our headmaster, Professor Longbottom (and my close family friend, conveniently), said, smiling out at all of us. He was so cute with his round face and shining eyes. He didn't demand everyone's attention all the time, like some past headmasters were able to do, but he sure as hell was one of the most loved professors of Hogwarts. "I've got a few change of staff I'd like to announce before we start the feast, and I'd like a warm welcome from all of you!" Everyone craned their necks to see who he was talking about, but I was too busy hexing Dora from under the table. In my defense, I saw her trying to put gum in my hair.

"As everyone probably knows," Longbottom continued, "Professor Binns has decided to travel the world for a few years. He sent us a replacement himself, someone he trusts very much, so without further ado, may I please introduce to you, Professor Rider Achai!"


	3. Letters and Sucre

**Chapter 3**: Letters and Sucre

I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Luckily, everyone was too busy checking out our new "Professor" to notice that I was going to puke into my pumpkin flask. I took that time to hold it together. I tried to make myself as little as possible when Rider stood up and looked around the hall, giving everyone a smile of appreciation. He was so attractive. I should have declared a concentration. Only undeclared, pre-healing, and arts majors had to take History of Magic. Maybe I would hurriedly make my concentration Broomstick making or something.

"Amy are you okay?" Jess asked, leaning over. I nodded, pretending to hold my head.

"Head just kind of hurts," I muttered.

"Oh well, I can see if I can sneak into Pomfrey's and get you some of that herb stuff..."

"That's really okay Jess," I said, shaking my head. "Just hungry."

Everyone had settled down and the noise level in the room had come to a dull roar. The food had showed up, and I managed to stomach it down in order to avoid Jesse's further unnecessary help. There was no herb to cure stupidity.

Needless to say, I had a fitful sleep.

I wanted to die. I had Rider first thing today.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Arty, Jess, and Aiden all stood in front of me, holding out a cupcake with a candle in it. I couldn't help but smile as they placed it in front of me before pulling out gifts from their bags and putting those in front of me too. They all sat down next to me, and Aiden grabbed my schedule to glance over it.

"Well obviously we're in all the same classes," I said, rolling my eyes. "Aren't you taking every class offered?"

He sat down next to me, spooning himself some oatmeal. "Well being a Healer isn't going to be easy," he said, "and I can't take all of them at once, but yeah most. And you're taking all the basic undeclared N.E.W.T. courses so obviously I'm in those." He looked over my schedule again. "You've got all this damn free time."

I shrugged. "Be an undeclared concentration."

"Well you do have this rotating advising thing, I've heard those are dull." I leaned over to look at my schedule in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked, noticing it for the first time.

"Dad said it's something that undeclared majors have to do until they choose something. You keep rotating between professors and they tell you all your opportunities in their fields in a sort of one-on-one until Christmas vacation, where you're required to pick something. Then they revamp your schedule for the next semester to fit your new concentration. They do some accelerated schedule -"

"Okay I've heard enough," I said, feeling grumpier with every word he said. This sounded miserable. I should have just picked something last year.

"You could pick something really fast, and then you wouldn't have to do this," Arty suggested, through a mouthful of bacon. Aiden glared at her.

"Bad idea," he said, "this is the rest of your life and you can't just pick something at random."

"Oh stop depressing her," Arty snapped. "It's her birthday! Open your gifts," she demanded, flipping her blonde hair back.

Aiden looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't. I was grateful. Thinking about it stressed me out.

I picked up Arty's first and found that she had gotten me a beautiful peacock quill. It was so delicate and came with a pot of royal blue ink that looked like it would never run out. I turned to her and smiled. "I love stationery!" I said genuinely. She grinned, her dimple pressed into her cheek.

"Good," she said, sounding satisfied by my reaction. I moved on to Jess's gift. I opened it and found a beautiful golden cage. It was empty though. Confused, I looked at Jesse, who was grinning sheepishly.

"Thanks, Jess, it's uh- I can put something in it," I said, lamely. He rolled his eyes, and brought forward another small box. This one was wriggling. Confused, and slightly scared that he had gotten me some sort of weird creature (of which he was fond of), I took the wriggling box from him and lifted off the top. Inside was a cream colored, wriggling pygmy puff. It was sitting on a dark yellow tiny blanket and was rolling around contentedly. I looked up at Jess, surprised at this thoughtful gift.

"Thank you," I said, not able to contain my grin. "She's so cute."

"Her name is Sucre. I know you're not supposed to have anything but owls, cats, or toads, but these are pretty inconspicuous as far as pets go," he said quickly. "And the cage is obviously for her."

"Thank you so much!" I said, putting a hand into the box to scoop out my adorable new pet. I let Arty hold her while I reached to open Aiden's gift.

I opened it and found glittering studs. I wasn't emotional ever, but something slight caught in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it down. It was Serendibite. I could tell because it was my favorite stone. I had only ever seen it in the highest end stores when Aiden, Dora, and I roamed around Diagon Alley, pretending to be much richer than we were.

"Aiden, you shouldn't have," I whispered. He smiled at me.

"Are you kidding? I remember the way you looked at them in Zea's. And I love you so much. It's from the whole family too," he added, smiling.

Arty, who was probably squeezing Sucre a little too hard, was enraptured by the glittering black stones. I just sat there in shock, knowing this must have cost Aiden and his parents so much money, and not taking my eyes off of it. I should give it back. Not accept it.

Just then, owl post came flying in, and dropped a couple envelopes in front of me. I carefully wrapped up the Serendibite earrings and put them in my bag. "Thanks so much, Aiden," I said, trying hard not to get emotional. He just shrugged and gave me a one armed hug before turning back to his food.

_Amelia,_

_Sweetie pie, we miss you so much. Two weeks over the summer is not enough for us! Happy 17th birthday, sweetie. You're an adult now, and that is a huge thing. We love you with all of our hearts. Use this money to buy something wonderful for yourself, because you deserve it. Your mother would have been so proud of the woman you've become._

_Please keep in touch, Amy._

_Love from the U.S. (come see us soon!)_

_Grandma Caroline and Grandpa Gary_

_XOXO_

I smiled and pocketed the money enclosed. They always sent a generous amount, but this year they put so much extra, and they never let me feel a lack of love for one second.

_Amy,_

_I hope this gets to you on time. Happy 17th. Sorry about not dropping you. Have a good year and write if you need anything. Here's some pocket cash._

_Dad_

I put this letter away carefully and pocketed the money dad gave me too, moving to the next envelope. By this time, people had begun to leave the table for class, and I realized I had momentarily forgotten about having Rider for my first class and my anxiety set in again.

I ripped open the last letter, and it was, of course, from Granddad Harry and Nana Ginny.

_Amy,_

_Happy seventeenth my darling baby. You're all grown up now and you can sit at the adults table this Christmas (which is at our house of course). You're making Harry and I feel ancient! Anyway, I hope that you'll have a wonderful year darling and will never hesitate to write if you're ever in need of anything - even just to talk._

_Love always,_

_Nana Ginny and Granddad Harry_

I pocketed that too (which was the most, as always!), and with my wallet feeling heavy, and my cute Pygmy chirping away, I tried to have less of a heavy heart while walking with Aiden to my doom.

"Are you okay?" Aiden asked. "You look pale."

"I... I'm fine. Just feeling a little queasy. Maybe I should skip class."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "It's your first class of the year, with a brand new teacher, you can't skip it. But I do have some Puking Pastilles and you can take the purple side."

"You are just so full of good ideas," I muttered. "Can we just sit at the back?"

"Err sure," he said, "but Arty, Dora, and Jess are up there..." he said gesturing to the front. But I ignored him and quickly sat down in the back, relieved that Rider wasn't in the classroom anymore. Aiden caved and joined me as well. I slouched down as far as possible.

Luckily, this was normal for me.

Rider walked in and I immediately remembered the ferocious way that we made out that day, and felt my face go red. His eyes swept over the class, and by some miracle, he didn't manage to notice my presence.

"Okay, let's take roll, and when I call your name, you'll just stand up and tell us a little about yourself." I inwardly groaned, wanting to die. He would definitely see me, no way around it. "I'll go first. I'm Rider Achai, and I love the History of Magic. I studied in the Wizarding School in the Caribbean and I'm from Spanish and American descent. I already love it here, and I hope you all will appreciate me as a teacher and can count on me as a friend as well."

More than friends, I thought, hoping that I would just die on the spot. Then no one had to know.

"Sure you don't want that purple end?" Aiden whispered from next to me.

And so slowly Rider went down the list of students. It was surprising that he hasn't seen me yet. He had this uncanny ability to only look at the person talking at the time. He was a really good listener.

"Aiden Lupun," he said. And I bent down really far, pretending to have dropped something while Aiden spoke.

"I'm Aiden Lupun, pre-healing, I'm like a fourth werewolf and I'm also a metamorphmagus." This statement was followed by a few appreciative students' oohs who hadn't seen Aiden change the color of his hair to pink yet.

"That's very impressive!" I hear Rider say. "If only I could just snap and fix my nose." Of course, his nose was perfect, I thought, still under the desk. A few girl's protestations confirmed that this was accurate.

He then moved on, and my back got some temporary relief. "Amelia Potter," he said after a few more people. I stood up and I saw his eyes dart to mine. They were surprised for a fraction of a second before his look became neutral again.

"Amy Potter. I'm undeclared. That's it," I said and quickly sat down pretending to drop something again.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

He spent the rest of class talking about what he was going to teach us this semester, and his expectations. He didn't look at me once.

"Class dismissed," he finally said, and everyone began picking up their books and bags, and I was trying to be the fastest. "Can I see the undeclared's?" he said, while everyone was packing up. I looked around, hoping desperately that I wasn't the only one.

I was.

"See you in our next class," Aiden said, looking sympathetic.

Grumbling, I sat back down in my desk. Rider kept his back to me, shuffling papers for a little while. Finally, when the last student left, he turned to look at me.

"Jean," he said quietly. I stared down at my feet uneasily. "What the hell?" he demanded, looking angry. "Why'd you lie?"

"I didn't know you're a professor!" I exclaimed. "I lie to everyone. I'm a Potter... I can't afford to be honest."

He looked upset. "This is so bad," he muttered. "Just go to your next class. And if you can, meet me in my office after dinner. We have to continue this discussion."

I rolled my eyes before standing up. "Only the two of us know. What is the big deal? Plus it's a big castle. And I'm legal anyway." He understood what I was insinuating and looked very peeved.

"Just go," he grumbled.


	4. Failure

**Chapter 4**: **Failure**

"What did he want?" Arty asked when I sat in between her and Aiden in Potions.

"To ask if I had any interest in history," I said easily. I suppose I could've been honest, but Aiden would start lecturing me. Besides, the less people who knew the better. "I told him yes slightly, so I'm meeting him after dinner.

"History?" Aiden asked, looking a bit too judgmental. "I mean that's not going to get you anywhere is it? I mean what can you really do other than be a Professor?"

"Oh stop," Arty said, "she just wanted some more time with Professor Achai."

I ignored her.

"Alright students!" A portly Slughorn walked into the classroom, clapping his chubby hands together. "This is N.E.W.T. potions, so I hope you're ready. I'm nice, but not that nice." He gestured to the board. There was already a set of tiny instructions. "All the supplies you need are in the cabinet. You should have cauldrons and scales already. You may begin!"

"Mum wrote me," Bella said, walking up to me. "She wanted to know if you liked your present." We were sitting in the Great Hall for lunch.

"Shoot, I totally forgot," I said, putting my fork down and rummaging through my back. I brought out the black box with a silver ribbon and carefully opened it. It revealed a beautiful silver chained watch. I turned it over in my hands to find my name scrawled on the back.

_Amelia Evelyn Potter_

"You can write back that I thought it was beautiful, Bells, thank you," I said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. She hugged me back happily.

"Okay, happy birthday!" she said, before skipping off.

"Shit that's a nice watch," Aiden said, taking Bella's place.

"Where have you been?" I asked curiously. "You disappeared after Potions."

"I spilled some of mine while giving it to Slughorn," he said, his expression becoming irritated. "So I had to stay and clean up the mess. It was an acidic potion after all, so it burned a mess out of the floor."

"Sorry," I said, sympathetically. "What've you got next?"

"Arithmancy," he said, sighing. "I've already got a shit ton of homework too, I'm pissed."

I laughed. "It's easier if you don't really care." And then Aiden made that really serious looks he makes when he's about to give me a lecture on my future.

"What are you going to do, Amy? Like seriously - how are you planning on living when you get out of here?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not everyone goes on to be big shot healers, Aiden. There are regular, more inferior jobs too." But it was his class time, so he couldn't say anything back. "See you in herbology!" I yelled at him.

I left the Great Hall that night and walked toward the History of Magic classroom. I was so nervous. Leave it to me to bring these things upon myself. I always had a bad history with guys. I was too brazen. I should be more like Arty- subtle.

Now I had to have a discussion with my History teacher about why we shouldn't have sucked face in a bar.

I shook my head and knocked on the doors to the classroom. They magically opened, and I stepped inside. Rider was standing with his back to me once again. I cleared my throat, hoping he'd turn around. He didn't.

"Sit," he said instead, still not facing me.

"Look, I've got to get back. So let's just hurry this up and lay down the ground rules."

He turned around and leaned against his desk, folding his arms. "Did you tell anyone about us?" he asked.

"I told you I didn't," I said. He gave me an appraising look. "I'm not one to kiss and tell."

He made a face. "Don't say that." Suddenly, I felt a wave of dare come across me.

I moved closer to him. He looked so good in casual slacks. "Or we could just," I was daringly close to him. I brought my finger to his cheek, and he flinched away. "I know how to keep a secret," I whispered.

"No," he said, pulling back. "You can't do this - we can't."

I rolled my eyes. "It's a big castle."

He just glared at me for the suggestion.

"Haven't you ever wanted to take a _risk_?" I asked. "Or do you always do what your Mum tells you to?"

"I could lose my job," he said. "And it would be different if we were actually interested in each other."

"So you aren't interested in me, Rider? Because that's not what it seemed like a week ago."

"It's _Professor _to you, and I am interested in you. But - you're just not interested in me."

"How do you know that?" I demanded, "You don't even know me."

"I know that this would just be you trying to get an adrenaline rush, and that's not something to lose my job over. It's just so wrong."

"You don't know me," I said quietly. "No one does. But fine, if you don't see something here for us, then I'm not pushing it. Merlin knows, I'm not desperate. I can take a hint. And don't worry, mums the word. So I'll see you in class, _Professor_."

I turned around and walked out.

A few doors down that same hallway I sat down against the wall, feeling angry. I had never been so rejected before by a guy. It made me feel good to be able to bat my eyelashes and have a guy wrapped around my finger immediately. This feeling was the one I had run away from all my life. It was probably the reason I hadn't picked a concentration yet. If you didn't have a concentration, you couldn't fail in it. I was terrified of failure. And I was terrified of becoming my dad.

"You know, it's not that important to pick a concentration," Jess said. He had walked up without me noticing and sat down next to me. "I mean not yet anyway. You can just feel it out."

"Why aren't you in the common room?"

He shrugged. "I was just walking and saw you here. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," I responded truthfully. "Thank you for your birthday gift, Jess, she's so cute."

"Yeah," he said, smiling. "I thought of you when I saw her."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm a fat, furry, yellow thing?"

"No, that's not what I meant," he stammered. "I - mean she was cute - and so are-"

"I know," I said, putting him out of his misery. We sat in silence for a few minutes. "You really like me, don't you Jess?"

He looked uncomfortable. "No – uh- what well of course, you know…" he trailed off, looking flustered.

"It's okay, I'm not dense," I said, quietly. I turned to look at him, and he looked very off guard. I leaned over and took his head in my hands. I pulled him towards me and kissed him firmly on the lips.


End file.
